Jamal Crawford

When we told you the Portland Trail Blazers might be looking to make big changes, we weren’t kidding. Raymond Felton is getting his tires kicked by the Lakers and likely other teams, as the point guard brought in has not fit as planned. Same can be said of Jamal Crawford, who also can be had…

The top three are pretty much set, it’s just a matter of who is playing the best among them at this moment. Right now it’s Chicago. The bottom three are pretty much locked in, too, but the Bobcats have really grabbed hold of the last spot and made it their own. 1. Bulls (31-8, last…

Here is our daily look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT). The Clippers and Timberwolves have some interest in Jamal Crawford of Portland and trade talks may follow. Crawford was brought in after the Brandon Roy…

On another website, in the fourth week of the season, I had the Trail Blazers as the fifth best team in the league in an edition of the power rankings. They looked awesome. I use that word a lot, but in the Blazers’ case, it was true. They played some of the best ball by any…

With no games after Thursday, we don’t have a lot of movement in the standings this week, but we tie in some All-Star Weekend notes and look ahead at the second half for teams. 1. Heat (27-7, last week ranked 1). LeBron James’ All-Star performance is what fans seem to expect from him — 36…

What you missed while filling out your Oscar pool…. Trail Blazers 137, Spurs 97: Gregg Popovich decided to sacrifice the Spurs 11-game win streak on the alter of rest. He sat Tony Parker and Tim Duncan (Manu Ginobili is already out with an oblique strain). The result was kind of what you’d expect with the…

Portland is making a change — Jamal Crawford, not Raymond Felton, will be the starting point guard for the Trail Blazers when they face off against the Spurs tonight, reports the Oregonian. So here’s your starting job, Mr. Crawford, enjoy trying to stop the hottest player in the league in Tony Parker. But the move…

Here is our daily look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT). Zach Randolph has been cleared by doctors for non-contact practices and is expected to return to the Grizzlies in early March. That would be huge…

Here is our daily look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT). Gilbert Arenas is going to conduct an open workout in Los Angeles this week so teams can come and decide for themselves if he’s got…

Jamal Crawford or Derrick Rose? You might throw some others in the conversation, but those are the two guys other NBA players are talking about in this video. And if your list doesn’t have J-Crossover on it, you’re doing it wrong. But I’d lean Rose.

What you missed while getting that nail you didn’t know you shot into your head removed… Celtics 87, Magic 56: Don’t go overboard with any “the Celtics are back” hype yet, but they got a quality win in our game of the night. Spurs 104, Hornets 102: New Orleans loses a lot of games but…

What you missed while watching the Australian Open and thinking “I need to go to vacation there”…. Wizards 105, Thunder 102: Yes, you are reading that right. The worst team in the NBA (1-12 entering the game) just beat a title contender (12-2 before this started). It gets weirder — Oklahoma City shot 48.1 percent…

What you missed while you tried to shame your kid into behaving…. Clippers 95, Heat 89: The game where the rims were afraid was our game of the night. Lakers 90, Jazz 87 (OT): The Lakers might not have gotten to the overtime without Kobe Bryant dropping 40 points — but when Kobe went cold…

Each weekend we bring you 25 random observations from the NBA week that was. 1. Ramon Sessions is not shooting well, but he’s drawing a lot of contact and his assists are up this year. He’s got a 19.5 PER and can’t get over 25 minutes per game on the Cavaliers. He’s much more of…

The Portland Trail Blazers secured an emotional home win over the evil Lakers on Thursday, and afterward, the team didn’t make it to its hotel in Phoenix until 4 a.m. local time the next morning. Add those two facts together, and you get the result of Friday night’s game against the Suns: a 102-77 shellacking…

What you missed while wondering what a crocodile would do with a lawn mower… Heat 116, Hawks 109 (3OT): No LeBron James or Dwyane Wade for Miami, yet the Heat were gritty (a little lucky) and get an unexpected win. This game was entertaining and dramatic, much more so than we expected going in. But can…

As you read this, the Portland Trail Blazers are the top seed in the Western Conference. Which after five whole games has all the meaning of a politician’s campaign promise, even in a 66 game season. Few people mention them as title contenders. But if you were watching the other day they beat Oklahoma City…

Tracy McGrady took charge of the Miami Heat in the fourth quarter Monday night. McGrady had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists and is the reason Miami fell to the Atlanta Hawks. He controlled the flow of the game in the fourth. Yes, that McGrady. The once dominant player with the questionable knees is…

What you missed while breaking your New Year’s resolutions already… Nuggets 99, Lakers 90: Best game of the night and there was a little fire to this one — second nights of a home-and-home often carry over some tension. Denver jumped out early with Kobe Bryant shooting only 1-of-10 in the first half and the…

What you missed while watching an octopus pick the BCS matchups…. Lakers 99, Knicks 82: We broke this down as our game of the night. Thunder 104, Mavericks 102: This was easily the best game the Mavericks have played this season. The ball movement was back, the clever veteran plays were there. Delonte West said…

Nicolas Batum is one of those players you leave the game talking about. You head into the Rose Garden in Portland thinking about LaMarcus Aldridge or Jamal Crawford, but when you leave the guy who jumps out at you is Batum. Which is why the Blazers are about to talk contract extension with the fourth-year…

Our morning look around the NBA — links to stories worth reading and notes to check out (stuff that did not get its own post here at PBT). Kevin Garnett went all Kevin Garnett and taunted a Raptor during a meaningless preseason game. Does this even shock us anymore? Jason Terry had to leave Mavericks…

Welcome to our inaugural power rankings for the 2011-12 NBA season (a regular Monday feature at PBT). These are fun if ultimately meaningless — in the NBA we have a playoff system to decide who is best (are you listening college football?). This is a preseason ranking, so remember that when you get mad about…

Our morning look around the NBA with stories worth reading and notes that are not their own post here at PBT. A fantastic read at Hoopspeak.com on what the Thunder need to do to get Kevin Durant more open looks. After signing Baron Davis for the mini mid-level, the Knicks are out of the running…

Brandon Roy is walking away from the game… which makes us sad. But he’s doing it while he can still walk, which is understandable. How Roy’s retirement is formally going down is that the Blazers will amnesty him, reports Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo. The reason is they need to get his salary of the books…